Opinion: We Need To Look Beyond Left And Right Ideologies

India has always been conflicted by the ideologies lying at the opposite end of the spectrum, the left and the right. It has been true since the inception of this country that these ideologies have been fighting battles of their own. These are more clearly seen concerning the talks of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The right dominates with power in their hands while the left lies wounded in college campuses and protests. The fight before was about which side was better, but now, the competition seems to be about which side is worse.

The right dominates with power in their hands while the left lies wounded in college campuses and protests.

Our country is standing at crossroads as it tries to choose between the left and the right, while the choice should be about right and wrong. The right thing to do is to be tolerant of both ideologies and counter both if they are wrong. It is wrong to label any protester as “anti-national” just because her/his ideology does not match with the people in power. Does it mean to tape their mouth shut to bring in a homogeneous democracy? Since when do words like homogeneous and democracy go together in a country like India, which was born to be diverse?

At the same time, countering the government just for the sake of countering the government isn’t right. Holding a strong view is a right that should be allowed and encouraged, but having views for the sake of having views is wrong. The freedom of speech shouldn’t be taken for granted by the left and the right. Both sides should stop being insolent and violent towards each other.

The choice for the path is, thus, not between left or right. It between right and wrong.